A/N: Just a fluffy Christmas one-shot – my contribution to the Proboards advent calendar. Enjoy!
"Fräulein Maria!" Gretl exclaimed with triumph, thrusting a chubby finger towards a stall of festive puppets that hung on fine strings a few feet away, "oh can we get some? Please please please!"
Feeling entirely too flustered, Maria's hand flew to her hair as all seven of her charges took off at speed towards the puppet stall without bothering to wait for her permission. If she were a cursing kind of woman, she might've muttered an expletive under her breath at that particular moment. Normally she loved it when the Mirabellplatz Christmas markets were bustling with a merry crowd of people - it was such a magical time of year after all. But with seven excitable children in tow, the busy crowds were becoming something of a nightmare. Particularly when her impatient employer was watching her every move and growing increasingly more exasperated.
"Fräulein!" Captain Von Trapp barked as if on cue from somewhere behind her, "could you please attempt to keep an eye on your charges? I knew this little excursion was a bad idea from the start.."
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Maria opened her mouth to remind him that it was in fact he who had succumbed to the children's begging - but Herr Detweiler beat her to the chase.
"Oh for goodness sake Georg, you're no better than Krampus with that insufferable scowl!" the impresario chastised - and as though to emphasise his point, he grabbed a pair of horn shaped Viking cups from a nearby stall selling all manner of bizarre trinkets and held them up to his head, mimicking the mythical Christmas beast with a heavy scowl of his own, "fraulein this! Fräulein that!" He mocked with a low bark - and Maria had to choke back a giggle when she caught the look of indignation on her employer's face. The sharp glare he cast in her direction silenced her sniggering immediately but not before she caught the slight colouring of the man's cheeks. Could it be— surely not.. was the captain blushing?
"It's Christmas Georg," Max chuckled as he put the cups back and gave the unamused stall owner an apologetic grin, "do try and uh.. enjoy yourself."
Much to Maria's surprise her employer didn't try to argue the way he normally would've done - though his sulky pout remained - rather reminding her of a stroppy Louisa.
"Elsa had the right idea staying back at the villa.." he muttered under his breath, but as the three of them caught up with the children Maria could've sworn she saw the smallest hint of an affectionate smile pulling at his lips in response to their innocent enthusiasm - and she too smiled inwardly. It was always the way these days - ever since their tacit truce the captain had become more attentive, more gentle, more loving with his brood - though he still had a tendency to lose his patience with her from time to time. Only, where his exasperation used to intimidate her, now it'd become almost like an unspoken game between them - he attempting to challenge her and she seeing just how far she could push him with her playful impertinence in return. His bark was far worse than his bite, she had quickly learned. And if she didn't know any better, she might've suspected that he even enjoyed their gentle sparring.
While the younger children toyed with the puppets they'd discovered and tugged their uncle Max over for a closer look, Maria wandered over to join Liesl who'd taken a particular interest in a jewellery stall nearby.
"These are beautiful," the girl muttered to no one in particular, the various pieces of jewellery glinting in the afternoon sun despite the biting cold.
"Don't even think about it Liesl!" Came her father's commanding - though somewhat playful voice - from a few feet away, and Maria exchanged an amused look with the girl before they turned back to the jewellery, rolling their eyes.
"One day I won't need his permission!" Liesl quipped and Maria gave a small laugh.
"Somehow I fear you'll always need his permission!" She teased, before taking a closer look at the small trinkets. While she couldn't deny they were all lovely, she'd never had a particular affinity for jewellery, having grown up in a modest setting. Material possessions were of little consequence to her, more so now than ever before because of her chosen vocation. And as such, she resolved to spend no more time poring over the indulgent objects. That was, until a small broach in the shape of an edelweiss flower caught her eye - and before she could stop herself, she gave an involuntary gasp.
"What is it Fräulein?" Liesl frowned, but Maria hardly heard her. Leaning closer, she studied the intricate details of the broach with a newfound fascination, her heart hammering and her eyes wide.
"Fräulein?" Liesl repeated, and Maria startled, as though only just remembering the girl was there.
"Oh uh.. it's just this broach," she breathed, daring to reach out and touch the fine piece with careful fingertips, "my mother had one just like it. But it was lost when she died..."
It was true - her mother had owned a broach strikingly similar to this one, though obviously far less opulent. It was one of the few things Maria remembered vividly about her mother - mainly because the woman had owned very few pieces of jewellery during her lifetime and so the broach had embedded itself in Maria's memory. It had been a gift from her father to her mother, she remembered - and a small lump formed in her throat as the faded image of her parents made its way to the forefront of her mind.
"Fräulein!" The captain's familiar bark in her ear suddenly made her jump, breaking her melancholic reverie as she and Liesl whirled around to face him. Why did he always insist on sneaking up on her like that?! Maria wondered. It made her feel as though she'd been caught doing something wrong.
"Yes captain?" She sighed, fighting to hide her exasperation as well as her previous sadness. Her employer said nothing, only raising his eyebrows to indicate that he was seriously unimpressed as he pointed towards the rest of his brood a few feet away. Maria followed the direction of his long, slender finger - trying to ignore the bizarre fluttering in her stomach at the sight - to find a sheepish Gretl helplessly tangled amidst the strings of one of the puppets that had caught her eye, while the stall keeper was desperately trying to stop a boisterous Kurt from whacking Marta on the head with another puppet's wooden hand.
Maria let out a horrified little moan.
"I hope you're good with knots Fräulein.." The captain smirked sarcastically - and immediately she felt a little stab of annoyance at his fiendish smugness.
"Says the self-proclaimed sailor," she retorted with bold insubordination, relishing in the fleeting surprise that suddenly flashed across his face. If Georg were able to find his voice at that particular moment, he would've explained to her in no uncertain terms that there was a world of difference between a sailor's knot and the knots of a damned puppet string - but she was already flouncing off towards her charges, an infuriating smile biting at her lips and her chin pointed outward in wordless defiance.
"Come on Friedrich, it's your turn!" Brigitta insisted, shaking her father's upturned fedora at her brother as she gripped it with both hands. The little pieces of folded paper inside the hat jostled in her excitement and Friedrich grinned boyishly as he shoved a hand inside the garment to draw out a name.
"Who did you get!" Kurt demanded mere seconds after Friedrich had unfolded the little piece of paper.
"That's the whole point of secret Santa dummy," Louisa rolled her eyes, "it's supposed to be a secret!"
Kurt merely stuck his tongue out at his sister and then grinned sheepishly when Maria gave him an appraising look. The children had come to her a week or two ago with the question of what to get their father for Christmas this year - and Maria had long pondered what seven youngsters could possibly get a man who seemed to have everything. Her charges had then argued the inconvenience of having to get several items for each other too, and so Maria had suggested secret Santa. It would mean only one child would need to come up with something to buy their father, and each of her charges would only have to buy one gift in total.
They'd all adored the idea. And convincing captain Von Trapp hadn't been too difficult either. Only, she had quite deliberately failed to mention that he too would be taking part in the game.
"Father!" Briggita bounded up to the unsuspecting captain as he poured himself a drink from the cabinet in the corner of the drawing room, passing another to Herr Detweiler, "it's your turn!"
Maria watched, trying to hide her amusement as the captain spun on the spot and stared wordlessly down at his own fedora. It seemed she wasn't the only one who was amused, for Herr Detweiler and the baroness gave their own chuckles of laughter at the blank look on his face.
"Me?" He questioned, "I don't understand."
"Please father!" The children chorused and Maria's own chuckle suddenly died on her lips, her breath catching in her throat when his gaze shifted and locked with hers.
I know this is your doing, his eyes told her, glinting a little with knowing amusement - and it seemed to take an age before she could move, eventually breaking the moment with a shrug of feigned innocence and a conspiratorial smile.
"Please!"
"Very well," he relented to a chorus of cheers from his brood, casting a hand over Brigitta's hair before drawing the final name from the hat. Maria watched, fascinated, as he unfolded the paper with gentle fingers, his eyes moving swiftly over the mystery name. A barely perceptible smirk pulled at his lips then, and suddenly she found herself longing to know just who he'd been assigned - but the private gleam in his eye disappeared as quickly as it had come, and he slipped the piece of paper safely into his jacket pocket, patting it absentmindedly - before Herr Detweiler changed the subject.
"Children," the impresario declared, taking a hearty sip of his sherry, "how about some carols for your old uncle hmm?"
By the time Maria had put the children to bed that night, she was rather exhausted. She'd spent the better part of the evening trying to persuade her charges to keep their secret Santa's a secret, while also pondering what on earth she could buy for hers. It was Kurt's name she'd pulled out of the hat - and she decided that she'd probably do well to purchase something edible for the boy!
It was time for her nightly reporting with her employer - and just as she was descending the stairs on her way to the captain's study, she spotted something that caught her eye, making her stop in her tracks. There, on the hat stand by the bannister, hung her employer's jacket - the one he'd been wearing that very afternoon. Immediately her heart began a steady gallop in her chest - and she rather hoped it was due to the prospect of discovering his secret Santa in the pocket, rather than the startling mental image of her jacketless and brooding employer sat somewhere beyond the study door.
Burning with curiosity, her mutinous feet carried her towards the hat stand and before she knew it her fingertips were grazing along the garment's sleeve, moving down the lapel, over the coarse material, towards the pocket-
"You know it's a terrible sin to cheat at a game, fraulein."
Maria gave an undignified yelp and nearly jumped out of her skin, almost knocking the hat stand over as she whirled around to face her intruder - though the baritone voice and the hairs prickling on the back of her neck told her there was only one person it could possibly be. And sure enough there he was, leaning tall and casual against the doorframe of his study, with a wicked glint in his eye, and an infuriating smirk on his lips. He was adorned in his smoking jacket with his arms crossed over his chest, and she felt the most bizarre stab of.. disappointment?
"I.. I wasn't cheating," she stuck out her chin resolutely, though the lie was an obvious one. She would have to mutter a thousand Hail Marys later on at the foot of her bed, firstly for her fib and secondly for wishing away that accursed velvet garment. Her imagination was ridiculous - she'd never even seen him without a jacket on and yet here she was picturing his shirt clad torso as if she was personally familiar with it. Much to her dismay she felt herself blush profusely when his smirk only widened - good Lord, was it possible that he could read her mind now too?
"Then why is it that you're digging around in my pockets hmm?" He drawled knowingly, and the devilish gleam in his blue eyes almost made her stop breathing. Almost.
"I... I..." she stammered hopelessly. Why was it that the man always left her so uncharacteristically tongue tied? One minute he was ranting and raving, and the next he was teasing her! Here she was, rooting through his pockets - an incredibly intimate and personal thing to do, an unforgivable insubordination - and yet he didn't seem particularly angry. More amused than anything else. The man was a complete riddle.
"I was looking for.. for your whistle!" she stated feebly, trying to avoid his gaze as he raised an eyebrow in mock surprise, "the children were far too excitable before bed, you see.."
"You don't mean to tell me you've suddenly come round to the idea of discipline Fräulein?" He teased mercilessly, "I thought whistles were for dogs and cats and other animals, but not for children and definitely not for you?"
She could find no more words to safeguard herself against those piercing eyes and so she settled for opening and closing her mouth repeatedly like a goldfish.
"It doesn't matter now anyway," he revealed with a roll of his eyes, "I threw the blasted whistles in the lake shortly after our little war of words."
Maria couldn't quite mask her surprise, "You did?"
"Yes," he replied, his voice softening somewhat as their eyes met, "believe it not Fräulein, even I am not immune to reason when I am forced to listen to it.."
"I didn't force you-"
"Oh ho, yes you did," he chuckled, before mimicking her defiance with startling precision: "I know you don't, but you've got to!"
She grinned sheepishly in response, offering an apologetic shrug - and mere seconds passed while they shared a conspiratorial smile. As the silence stretched on however, a sudden and awkward tension began to settle upon them, one that made her pulse race. It was a cycle they'd repeat often these days - moments of good humour followed by an abrupt silence during which they'd avoid eye contact, suddenly all too aware of their over-familiarity. More often than not, an interruption by one of the children would be their saving grace. But her charges were nowhere to be seen this time.
"Shall we?" He cleared his throat awkwardly and gestured through into his study, breaking the unbearable quietude. She nodded and moved past him, desperately trying to ignore his proximity and the subtle scent of spices, wondering fleetingly how on earth she was going to get through the next half an hour with her composure still intact.
Snow was falling heavily outside the windows of the drawing room at 53 Aigen as Maria grabbed the little sack of secret Santa gifts from under the magnificent tree, the copious amounts of tinsel and baubles adorning the branches filling her with festive cheer. She remembered the day she'd convinced the captain to allow his brood to decorate it, and smiled knowingly as she recalled his silent dismay when mayhem had ensued, tinsel and decorations flying everywhere. He had kept any protests to himself however, allowing the carnage to unfold with a strained but genuine smile as he'd watched the innocent joy on his children's faces.
Upturning the sack and allowing several gifts of various different shapes and sizes to spill out onto the floor, she eventually gave a little nod of permission and watched as her charges scrambled gleefully towards the pile, riffling through the contents with abandon until they'd each discovered the gift with their name on it. Once they'd all ripped into them and expressed their gratitude, paper flying everywhere, only two gifts remained - and Kurt grabbed one up in his eager hands, making his way over to his father.
"This one has your name on it father," he grinned boyishly, and the captain rewarded him with a grin of his own, ruffling the boy's hair before he began to unwrap the gift. The sight warmed Maria's heart, but she didn't have time to find out which gift he'd received, nor make a guess at which child might've bought it for him - for she was suddenly distracted by a gentle tugging of her skirts. Looking down, she discovered Marta staring up at her with wide eyes.
"What is it darling?" She asked, and Marta held up a single present, still wrapped neatly in its paper and tied up nicely with string.
Maria frowned.
"Which of you hasn't opened your gift yet?" She addressed her charges, but none of them answered.
"No! It says Fräulein Maria!" Marta smiled broadly and Maria paused, bewildered, before taking the gift from the girl's hand. Sure enough, her name was etched on the little card in neat handwriting - signed 'with love, from Santa'. How had her name got in the hat, she wondered - she hadn't put it in there herself, of that she was certain. But then again, her charges were a mischievous and generous lot - no doubt one of them had slipped her name in along with their own when she hadn't been looking to ensure she was included. The little dears.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Friedrich asked, looking far too genuinely curious to be responsible for the gift. All her other charges looked equally intrigued and so with a shrug, Maria loosened the string and unwrapped the paper to reveal a simple wooden box that fitted perfectly in the palm of her hand. Frowning slightly in puzzlement, she removed the lid and immediately felt her heart soar and her stomach plummet all at once when her eyes fell on the gift hidden inside.
There, sat amidst a nest of shredded paper, was the broach she'd seen at the Christmas market a week ago. The broach that reminded her of her mother. Hardly daring to believe it, she touched the trinket with gentle fingertips, tears pooling behind her eyes. Who had been so wonderful as to do something like this for her? Immediately she looked to Liesl but the girl seemed just as dumbfounded, giving a slight shake of her head to tell her fraulein that she'd had nothing to do with it.
A quick glance at the rest of the children's faces told her that they too were perplexed - or at least, none of them was going to own up to it - and Herr Detweiler only looked bored while the Baroness seemed slightly irked. It appeared that no one was willing to explain the mystery of the broach to her - and before she knew it, Maria's tearful eyes were falling to her employer.
He was busying himself with making a drink at the cabinet in the far corner, trying - she suspected - to be inconspicuous. When eventually he turned around to find the whole room looking at him, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Why do you stare at me that way?" He directed his question at Maria, who suspected that she hadn't quite had time to mask her emotions. His eyes shifted downwards to the trinket in her hand before flicking back up to her face, his expression giving nothing away - and he held her gaze mercilessly for long seconds, taking a lengthy drag from his glass.
She said nothing - she didn't have to. Because somehow she already knew that he was responsible. And her guileless eyes decided to do the talking for her as they began another one of the many silent exchanges they often shared when in polite company.
Why did you do this for me? Her eyes asked, studying his face with open fascination.
He raised an eyebrow in silent challenge, What makes you think it was me?
Because I know you better than you think..
His gaze softened ever so slightly then, with a hint of amusement that might've been lost on everyone else - and she could've sworn he gave an almost imperceptible shrug. Well I guess you'll never know, Fraulein..
They simply stood staring at each other then, the sudden intimacy of the moment almost too keen for her to bear, until—
"So if it's not from any of us-" came Louisa's impatient voice from somewhere in the near vicinity, "- just who is it from?"
"Santa of course!" Kurt cried, "It's a Christmas miracle!" and much to Maria's relief the fierce tension was broken as everyone descended into warm laughter - though the racing of her heart still refused to subside.
The rest of the evening continued as normal, though her mind was a sea of white noise as she tried desperately to make sense of the gift she had received and the person she suspected had given it to her. On more than one occasion she found herself staring at him from across the dinner table, only to blush profusely and curse her own transparency whenever he would look up to find her eyes on him. It was just that he was such a fascinating mass of contradictions that she couldn't quite help herself - so buttoned and cold one minute, so warm and gentle the next - and her pulse thrummed just a little faster at the sight of him.
When the time finally came for their daily meeting after the children had gone to bed, she couldn't focus on a single word the man was saying. All she could think about was the broach, and the way his eyes seemed to be dancing by the light of the fire as he sat behind his desk. He was reading aloud from a list of prospective novels that she planned on introducing to the children's lessons - and providing his opinion on each. Normally she would've challenged his observations or voiced her own, until they were no longer discussing lessons, but instead conversing about the rich topic of classic literature - or history, or art, or religion, or whichever topic happened to take their fancy.
This time however, she found she couldn't say a thing - until suddenly, the only words that she had been fighting to hold in all evening finally escaped unbidden from her lips.
"Thank you captain," she blurted, startling him with her sudden interruption. His eyes immediately narrowed in confusion as he fell silent, looking up from the piece of paper in his hand.
"Whatever for?"
"For.. for my secret Santa," she breathed, her heart hammering, "The broach... it's the nicest thing anyone's ever-"
"I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," he stated matter-of-factly - and then he carried on discussing the merits of Shakespeare as if she hadn't interrupted him at all. Perplexed, she resolved simply to keep her mouth shut for the remainder of the meeting, speaking only when spoken to - and she was admittedly rather relieved when he finally dismissed her. Eager to free herself from the somewhat startling effects of his proximity on her mind and body, she made her way hastily to the door - only to take pause when she heard him call after her softly, "uh.. Fräulein?"
She turned to find him suddenly looking at her with such raw intensity that she simply forgot how to breathe, "Y-yes Captain?"
"You're welcome," he whispered.